To the student

This book is for students who want help with English grammar. It is written for you to use without a teacher.

The book will be useful for you if you are not sure of the answers to questions like these:

What is the difference between I did and I have done?

When do we use will for the future?

What is the structure after I wish?

When do we say used to do and when do we say used to doing?

When do we use the?

What is the difference between like and as?

These and many other points of English grammar are explained in the book and there are exercises on each point. Level The book is intended mainly for intermediate students (students who have already studied the basic grammar of English). It concentrates on those structures which intermediate students want to use but which often cause difficulty. Some advanced students who have problems with grammar will also find the book useful.

The book is not suitable for elementary learners.

How the book is organized

There are 136 units in the book. Each unit concentrates on a particular point of grammar. Some problems (for example, the present perfect or the use of tbe) are covered in more than one unit. For a list of units, see the Contents at the beginning of the book.

Each unit consists of two facing pages. On the left there are explanations and examples; on the right there are exercises. At the back of the book there is a Key for you to check your answers to the exercises (page 310).

There are also seven Appendices at the back of the book (pages 274-283). These include irregular verbs, summaries of verb forms, spelling and American English.

Finally, there is a detailed Index at the back of the book (page 344).

How to use the book

The units are not in order of difficulty, so it is not intended that you work through the book from beginning to end. Every learner has different problems and you should use this book to help you with the grammar that you find difficult. It is suggested that you work in this way:

Use the Contents and/or Index to find which unit deals with the point you are interested in.

If you are not sure which units you need to study, use the Study guide on page 301.

Study the explanations and examples on the left-hand page of the unit you have chosen.

Do the exercises on the right-hand page.

Check your answers with the Key.

If your answers are not correct, study the left-hand page again to see what went wrong.

You can of course use the book simply as a reference book without doing the exercises.

Additional exercises

At the back of the book there are Additional exercises (pages 284-300). These exercises bring together some of the grammar points from a number of different units. For example, Exercise 14 brings together grammar points from Units 26-40. You can use these exercises for extra practice after you have studied and practised the grammar in the units concerned.